SNOW WHITE ALTERNATIVE
TEXTS

Confirmations and
Alternatives to the phrase "Then a pair of red-hot iron shoes was brought
into the room with tongs and set before her, and these she was forced to put
on and to dance in them until she could dance no longer, but fell down dead
. . ."

Compiled by: Kay
E. Vandergrift

This page provides alternative
or confirming translations and interpretations of the above phrase in thirty-six
text versions. The various editions used are listed chronologically. For the
convenience of the English reader, German editions have not been included although
they have been consulted. Since most picture books do not include pagination,
I have counted the pages from the beginning picture and/or text to facilitate
finding the appropriate passage. The various spellings of particular words that
appear in the texts have been retained; these are not misspellings but reflect
textual accuracy.

"And when she saw her she
knew her for Snow-white, and could not stir from the place for anger and terror.
For they had ready red-hot iron shoes, in which she had to dance until she fell
down dead." p. 221.

"Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree," in Celtic Fairy Tales.
Written and Edited by Joseph Jacobs. Illus. by John D. Batten. New York and London:
G. P. Putnam's Sons, n.d. [c. 1892] pp. 97-101.

"It is the custom in this
country," said the second wife, "that the person who offers a drink takes a
draught out of it first."
"Silver-tree put her mouth to it, and the second wife went and struck it so
that some of it went down her throat, and she fell dead. They had only to carry
her home a dead corpse and bury her." p.101.

Favorite Fairy Tales: The Childhood Choice of Representative
Men and Women. Illus. by Peter Newell. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1907,
pp. 173-192.

"When she came, and found
that it was Snowdrop alive again, she stood petrified with terror and despair.
Then two iron shoes, heated burning hot, were drawn out of the fire with a pair
of tongs, and laid before her feet. She was forced to put them on, and to go
and dance at Snowdrop's wedding-dancing, dancing on these read hot shoes till
she fell down dead." p. 192.

"Quickly, seize those women
and get rid of them as best you know how. For they have come here to poison
Queen Myrsina."
"Then they seized the two sisters and what they did with them I don't know.
I only know that they were never seen or heard of again." p.112..

"And when she saw her she
knew her for Snow-white, and could not stir from the place for anger and terror.
For they had ready red-hot iron shoes, in which she had to dance until she fell
down dead." p. 137.

Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs: A Tale from the Brothers
Grimm. Translated by Randall Jarrell. Illus. by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. New
York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1972, pp. 1-26.

"But they had already put
iron slippers over a fire of coals, and they brought them in with tongs and
set them before her. Then she had to put on the red-hot slippers and dance till
she dropped down dead." p. 24.

The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm: Selected by
Lore Segal and Maurice Sendak. Translated by Lore Segal with four tales
translated by Randall Jarrell. Illus. by Maurice Sendak. 2 Volumes. New York:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1973, pp. 256-274.
[The translation of "Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs," is that of Randall Jarrell
first published in The Golden Bird and Other Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
New York: Macmillan, 1962.]

"But they had already put
iron slippers over a fire of coals, and they brought them in with tongs and
set them before her. Then she had to put on the red-hot slippers and dance till
she dropped down dead." p. 274.

"And when she arrived,
and saw that it was no other than Snow-drop, who, as she thought, had been dead
a long while, she choked with passion, and fell ill and died; but Snow-drop
and the prince lived and reigned happily over that land many many years." p.182.

Grimms' Tales for Young and Old: The Complete Stories.
Translated by Ralph Manheim. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1977, pp. 184-191. [Translated
from the Winkler-Verlag (Munich) edition of the Complete Kinder- und HausMaerchen
(Tales for Young and Old) by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, as first published in 1819.]

"But two iron slippers
had already been put into glowing coals. Someone took them out with a pair of
tongs and set them down in front of her. She was forced to step into the red-hot
shoes and dance till she fell to the floor dead." p.191.

"And at this the wicked
queen was so angry she ripped the mirror from the wall and threw it across her
room, shattering it into a thousand pieces. One of the pieces hit against the
ebony window frame, and flew back and pierced the wicked queen's heart, and
she fell down dead, never to harm Snow White or anyone else again." p.19.

The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: Volume I.
Tales I-100. Translated by Jack Zipes. Illus. by John B. Gruelle. New York:
Bantam, 1987, pp.213-222. [The present translation is based in part on the first
of the Kinder und Hausmaerchen published in two volumes in 1812 and 1815.
The first 211 tales in this translation are based on the seventh and final edition
published in 1857. Illustrations by John B. Gruelle first appeared in Grimm's
Fairy Tales, translated by Margaret Hunt in 1914.]

"The evil queen was so
petrified with fright that she could not budge. Iron slippers has already been
heated over a fire, and they were brought over to her with tongs. Finally, she
had to put on the red-hot slippers and dance until she fell down dead. p.222.

"But she took with her
a poisonous rose, which she meant to leave on the young bride's pillow. When
she saw that it was Snow White who was married, so happy and so beloved, the
evil queen turned quite mad with jealousy, so that in her passion she clutched
the deadly rose. Then she died miserably of her own poison." p. 29.

"When she arrived at the
castle and found that it was Snowdrop, she stood petrified with terror. Then
two iron shoes were laid before her, and she was forced to put them on and to
dance at Snowdrop's wedding-dancing and dancing in those heavy shoes until she
fell down dead. And that was the end of her." p. 37.

Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Adapted
from the Film by Jim Razzi. Illus. by Fernando Guell and Fred Martin. New York:
Disney Press, 1993.

"Look out!" cried Grumpy.
"She's going to roll that boulder right over us!" The witch laughed triumphantly
as the boulder started to come loose. But just as it was about to roll down
unto the dwarfs, a bolt of lightning struck the outcropping rock. In an instant,
it shattered and fell away, carrying the witch and the boulder with it. The
witch gave out a long, horrifying shriek as she fell all the way to the jagged
rocks below." p. 88.

"As she entered Snowdrop
recognized her, and nearly fainted with fear; but red-hot iron shoes had been
prepared for the wicked old Queen, and she was made to get into them and dance
till she fell down dead." p. 221.

"While we were immobile
and you all blathered on in your sexist way, I had a personal awakening. From
now on, I am going to dedicate my life to healing the rift between womyn's souls
and their bodies. I am going to teach womyn to accept their natural body images
and become whole again. Snow White and I are going to build a womyn's spa and
conference center on this very spot. . ." p.56.

Rimonah of the Flashing Sword: A North African Tale.
Adapted by Eric A. Kimmel. Illus. by Omar Rayyan. New York: Holiday House, 1995.

"But the magic bowl had
already warned the sorceress that her end was near. She mounted her flying carpet
and swooped out the window, screeching defiance to those below. However, in
her haste she left the porcelain bowl behind.
Rimonah dashed up the tower stairs. She seized the bowl and hurled it after
the flying carpet. The bowl plummeted to the ground, shattering to pieces. At
that instant the queen's carpet flew apart. Bits of colored silk rained from
the sky as the sorceress-queen plunged to her doom." p. 26-28.

"Then the wicked queen
was commanded to put on a pair of magic slippers. The minute they were on her
feet, the slippers forced her to dance and dance, faster and faster, until she
dropped down dead." p. 44.